Text Size

A Community-based Social Networking Intervention to Increase Walking in Dog Owners

This study has been completed.
Sponsor:
Collaborator:
University of Massachusetts, Lowell
Information provided by (Responsible Party):
Kristin Schneider, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:
NCT01593449
First received: April 30, 2012
Last updated: April 11, 2013
Last verified: April 2013
History of Changes
  Purpose

The present study aims to initially test a community dog walking intervention that addresses individual, interpersonal and community factors associated with dog walking. The study will be conducted in two cities, Worcester and Lowell, as a collaboration between investigators from UMass Medical School and UMass-Lowell.


Condition Intervention Phase
Sedentary
 Behavioral: Community-based social networking intervention
 Phase 1

Study Type: Interventional
Study Design: Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Open Label
Primary Purpose: Prevention
Official Title: A Community-based Social Networking Intervention to Increase Walking in Dog Owners

Further study details as provided by University of Massachusetts, Worcester:

Primary Outcome Measures:
  • feasibility [ Time Frame: 6 months ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
    Feasibility will be assessed by implementation success, including recruitment and retention rates, website use, intervention satisfaction and attendance at neighborhood walks and community events.


Secondary Outcome Measures:
  • Weekly steps [ Time Frame: baseline and 6 months ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
    Pedometers that record 7-days of data will be used to measure steps at baseline and 6 months

  • weekly dog walking minutes [ Time Frame: baseline and 6 months ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
    Self-reported minutes of dog walking measured using the DAPA tool.

  • social support for walking [ Time Frame: baseline and 6 months ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
    Self-reported social support for walking

  • sense of community [ Time Frame: baseline and 6 months ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
    self-reported sense of community


Enrollment: 107
Study Start Date: January 2011
Study Completion Date: December 2012
Primary Completion Date: December 2012 (Final data collection date for primary outcome measure)
Arms Assigned Interventions
Active Comparator: American Heart Association
Participants will receive handouts on increasing physical activity derived from the American Heart Association materials on increasing physical activity.
 Behavioral: Community-based social networking intervention
Participation in this study lasts for 7 months and includes a baseline visit, an orientation visit, the 6 month intervention, and a 6 month assessment visit.
Experimental: Dog Walking
The 6-month dog walking intervention involves 5 components to address the individual, interpersonal and community levels of the socio-ecological model: newsletters, pedometers, social networking website, neighborhood dog walks, and invitations to community events.
 Behavioral: Community-based social networking intervention
Participation in this study lasts for 7 months and includes a baseline visit, an orientation visit, the 6 month intervention, and a 6 month assessment visit.

Detailed Description:

This is a group randomized trial where 8 communities in Worcester and Lowell (4 per city) will be randomly assigned to the 6-month dog walking intervention or a standard, self-help, print-based physical activity control condition. Dog owners (N=120; 15 per community) will be recruited. The intervention includes a social networking website, monthly newsletters, twice monthly neighborhood dog walks and community events. The intervention will: 1) educate owners about the benefits of dog walking to themselves and their dog, 2) teach strategies for regular dog walking, 3) teach dog walking tips and provide dog training seminars, 4) promote self-monitoring and goal setting for dog walking, 5) provide social networking opportunities for dog owners and 6) promote a sense of community via participation in neighborhood dog walks and community events. Intervention feasibility will be assessed by measures of implementation success, including recruitment and retention rates, website use, intervention satisfaction and attendance at neighborhood walks and community events. Initial efficacy will be assessed via change in weekly steps measured via a pedometer from baseline to 6-months after baseline.

  Eligibility

Ages Eligible for Study:   21 Years and older
Genders Eligible for Study:   Both
Accepts Healthy Volunteers:   Yes
Criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Eligible participants will own a dog that is in good health and considered a household pet, be a Worcester or Lowell resident, be aged > 21 years old and have home internet access. Participants with cardiovascular disease, diabetes or other chronic health condition are eligible with permission from their PCP to participate.

Exclusion Criteria:

Participants will be excluded for any of the following:

  1. Inability or unwillingness to give informed consent
  2. Plans to move out of the area within the study period
  3. Participated in a focus group during the developmental phase
  4. Another household member is participating in the study
  5. Pregnant or planning a pregnancy in the next six months
  6. Condition that inhibits exercise (e.g., unable to walk unaided, or cannot walk 1/4 mile without stopping)
  7. Incapable of engaging in physical activity as assessed by the Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire
  8. Self-report engaging in > 150 minutes of moderate and vigorous intensity physical activity per week.
  9. The participant's dog has a history of biting a human or has not received a rabies vaccination.
  Contacts and Locations
Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01593449

Locations
United States, Massachusetts
University of Massachusetts Lowell
Lowell, Massachusetts, United States, 01854
University of Massachusetts Medical Schol
Worcester, Massachusetts, United States, 01655
Sponsors and Collaborators
University of Massachusetts, Worcester
University of Massachusetts, Lowell
Investigators
Principal Investigator: Krisitin Schneider, Ph.D. Rosalind Franklin Medical School
  More Information

No publications provided

Responsible Party: Kristin Schneider, Principal Investigator, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01593449     History of Changes
Other Study ID Numbers: NIH 5 UL1RR031982-02
Study First Received: April 30, 2012
Last Updated: April 11, 2013
Health Authority: United States: Institutional Review Board

ClinicalTrials.gov processed this record on May 22, 2013